Looking for Skulls to Clean/Whiten/Degrease!!!

[5HORTY]

Howdy all!

Seeing as there was a old post that was revived with a fair amount of people interested in having their skull cleaned (Euro's), I figured I start a post for those still looking!


I have been cleaning skulls now for a couple years mostly for friends and family, friends of friends as well as myself. I have grown to enjoy doing this very much! So should you be in search of someone to either do your skull for you or even help you do yours feel free to post here or shoot me a PM!


I have done Mink, Lynx, Marten, Muskrat, Beaver, Coyote, Wolf, Deer and Moose to date! I am open to anything you have to get done!

I will post some pictures when I can figure out how of the ones I have already done or shoot me a message and I can email or text you!

PS. If there are any trappers or predator hunters out there that have any heads that they don't have need for I would gladly take them off your hands!

Thanks all for your interest!

Happy Hunting and Trapping!!!

[xfactor]

using beetles or boil methods?

how much for a bison skull? it has been prepped and is sitting in the freezer.

[5HORTY]

I totally thought I answered this above but noticed that I hadn't....

no beetles and no boil. Too much heat is no good! I simmer and do them manually!!

If you know who Ryan Olsen is or have heard of Whitebone Creations, I do things very similar to his methods! Anyone interested in doing their own or looking for advice I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND his YouTube channel/page!!
(https://www.youtube.com/user/WHITEBONEREFLECTION/videos?disable_polymer=1)

As far as cost, I am open! Pay what you want/what you think its worth!

[5HORTY]

Hey man, just read your thread about skulls...put my spring bear skull (more like a meathead at this point) in a bucket of water last Tuesday and have changed the water twice so far...have you used straight up cold water maceration before or do you always simmer them first to get off most of the meat first? Pretty stinky so far but seems to be getting a bit less disgusting and more like just a dirty mop bucket or something. Was wondering what your experience with teeth falling out is though if you do have experience with that method, I'm assuming I'll definitely have some fall out but not too sure when to start expecting that and if all the front teeth generally fall out or just some. Want to seal them with polyurethane before I bleach the skull to maintain the discoloration if I can, he had some rotten chompers! Will definitely save you my next one as this has been a pretty stinky experience for my co-workers so far, think a lot of that is due to not spending enough time fleshing it first though. Good luck on the projects, hope you get some cool ones to work on this season!

Hey there *********,

Yes in the beginning I tried cold water maceration a fair bit. It is one of the safer methods I have found, however as you have found out it is very time consuming! I also found with cold water, it did a very poor job in pulling out the oil trapped in greasy animals such as bears, beavers, wolves, coyotes and pigs. After drying and along with time when grease isn't pulled out it comes out to the surface and doesn't look pleasant. Cold water also is more time consuming. Most hunters don't care for museum quality European mounts, they just want something to remember their hunt(s)!

If you are using cold water, but sure to use a degreaser/cleaner to help draw out as much oil as possible. This will also help separate the meat from the bone! But remember the more meat there is the more difficult it is for the cleaner/degreaser to do its job! I make sure to pull off all the hide, as much meat as possible including the tongue, eyes, etc. I also take the brain out right off the batt to allow the oils to get pulled from the inside as well (make sure when soaking the skull that there isn't any air pockets in the brain cavity, as if you do it will show in the finished product!).

As you have mentioned, using cold water is a stinky job! If done incorrectly, that smell can stay with your skull forever (the smell can dissipate as the bone dries, however if it rehydrates the smell can become quite pottant!

By using the simmering method, you can typically do a skull from start to finish in just one day! Very quick turn around time, no rotting smell, easy to work with!

Teeth fall out, it is very rare that you will do a skull and not have any come out! That's a fact just have to be cautious! Certain animals need specific teeth intentionally pulled as they contain a fair amount of meat on/in them which could attract insects and/or cause odours. Also by having specific teeth removed you can do a much better job at cleaning the insides of the jaws! Teeth can be glued back in (Just be sure to do the gluing after the whitening so as not to yellow the glue)!

I only say this because you mentioned "bleaching your skull", but whatever you do, DO NOT USE BLEACH! Bleach will damage/wreck/destroy your skull! Use H2O2 also known as Hydrogen peroxide. The higher the percentage of Peroxide the quicker it will do the job, however you will have to pay closer attention the bone. The stuff you get at the drug store in the brown bottles are typically 3%, they will do the trick, but are more time consuming! Advantage is that it is safer to use! BUT WHAT EVER YOU DO, DO NOT USE BLEACH!!!!

Thanks for messaging me your questions, if you need any further help don't hesitate to ask!

SHORTY